Prayuth breaks silence over clip

Prayuth breaks silence over clip

Army chief denies pact to bring Thaksin home

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha broke his silence Thursday over an audio clip that cast the military in a controversial light, saying he has not made a deal to bring ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra home.

Gen Prayuth insisted he has not even given thought to the matter because it was not part of his job.

"How could I make an agreement? You should ask the people who talked about it. I didn't talk about it," he said.

Stepping up to the job: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra prepares to review an armed forces guard of honour ceremony held to mark her concurrently holding the defence minister post at the Defence Ministry Thursday. (Photo by Thanarak Khoonton)

The clip is a conversation allegedly between Thaksin and Deputy Defence Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa.

Gen Prayuth and other military top brass were mentioned in the recording as holding the key to the enactment of an amnesty law that could help Thaksin return to Thailand.

Thaksin's son Panthongtae admitted the voice in the recording was that of his father but Gen Yuthasak has denied he was the other man in the clip.

The army chief said he had no hard feelings towards Gen Yuthasak.

He said there was no way for him to know if the clip is real and it was unproductive to waste time on the issue.

Gen Prayuth also urged people to stop trying to get the military to solve every problem in the country.

"It doesn't do us any good to bring it all down," he said, referring to a coup. "Some people have said they wanted the military to come out and ‘take care' of the situation. Do these people know the consequences? If there is another coup, there will certainly be violence," he said.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is also defence minister, reaffirmed on Thursday that Gen Yuthasak would stay on in his position despite growing calls for him to resign.

Speaking after meeting the supreme commander and leaders of the three armed forces on her first day of work as defence minister yesterday, Ms Yingluck said Gen Yuthasak deserves a chance to prove himself.

"Everyone must try their best to perform their duties and prove their competence," Ms Yingluck said. "I cannot say at this time whether Gen Yuthasak is a suitable person to help me oversee defence. Let us wait and see what his performance is like."

Asked whether Gen Yuthasak should take responsibility for the audio clip, Ms Yingluck said: "Don't you care about Gen Yuthasak's feelings? He is standing here."

Ms Yingluck said authorities have been ordered to examine the authenticity of the clip.

Earlier, a commotion broke out outside the Defence Ministry near Sanam Luang when police tried to clear the road outside the building to allow Ms Yingluck and Gen Yuthasak in.

Dozens of anti-government protesters led by Capt Songklod Chuenchupol, also known as Capt Poo Khem, gathered there to block them from entering the premises.

Capt Songklod was arrested and detained at Phra Ratchawang police station. He was charged with obstructing traffic and defying orders.

Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok declined to comment on the clip.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung claimed the clip was doctored to distort some information.

He said certain parts of the conversation seemed to lack coherence.

The part concerning a plot to push for an amnesty law for Thaksin was not quite right, he said.

According to the conversation, the Defence Council and the National Security Council would be used to endorse the amnesty plan.

"The council's authority involves appointments of military officers. It is parliament that makes laws. It is impossible for a man like Thaksin not to know who does what," Mr Chalerm said. He said he would lobby Pheu Thai MPs to push for the passage of an amnesty bill now pending parliament scrutiny.

Pheu Thai MP for Samut Prakan Worachai Hema called on Gen Yuthasak to step down over the clip.

Mr Worachai said the conversation must have been recorded by Gen Yuthasak, who possibly planned to use it to negotiate with Thaksin or the Pheu Thai Party.

He said it was possible that Gen Yuthasak was a mole in the government.

He said if Gen Yuthasak refused to take responsibility he would call on Ms Yingluck to take action.

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